A High-Payload Image Steganography Based on Shamir’s Secret Sharing Scheme

This paper introduces an image steganography system that hides a high capacity of confidential data by utilizing a distributed computing scheme that offers the embedding of smaller, equally segmented confidential images across multiple cover images. The proposed strategy developed a strong security mechanism associated with self-synchronized methods by utilizing Shamir’s Secret Sharing (SSS) Scheme. To ensure extraordinary security for hidden confidential data within the cover image, double-layer security has been designed. In the primary layer, the Secret Distributing Scheme (SDS) divides a single larger secret image into identically smaller sub-images, and the SSS scheme then creates an encoded structure of smaller sub-images for assigning and restoring the distributed decomposed confidential images within the proposed shareholders. The SSS scheme will reorder the distributed confidential decomposed images into a predefined order by the authorized recipient at the moment of revealing secrets by interpolating polynomials. The next layer is steganography, where the image is segmented into 2 × 2 squares of pixels and navigated in a crisscross way; the pixel-value difference is computed among non-overlapping Red, Green, Blue (RGB) pixels in a diagonal direction within a focused square of pixel area. Secret bits are hidden within the RGB pixels of the cover image by using the presented innovative pixel-value differencing (PVD) strategy. The results of the research indicate that the presented system provides an inventive mechanism in the form of a double layer of security and vastly enhances embedding capability.